Volvo’s late late entry to shake up compact-SUV market.
An Autocar report today detailed confirmation of an impending Volvo XC40, the Swedish marque’s first entry into the lucrative compact-SUV segment. The high-riders’ arrival was confirmed to the British publication by Henrik Green, the R&D chief at Volvo.
Speaking at the Detroit motor show, Green said that the XC40 would be the first new Volvo to ride on the company’s CMA architecture, designed for compact cars. The R&D boss said that the base development work of the car has been completed, and is slated for debut sometime this year.
“There’s a big chance it’ll be one of the most successful cars in our line-up,” Green said. He reckons that the 40-Series family of cars that the XC40 will bring about will contribute “a significant part of growth in the next three to four years.” The new compact SUV from Volvo will take on cars like the BMW X1 and Audi Q3 when it arrives, in a highly-competitive segment that takes no prisoners.
Thankfully, Volvo knows what it’s doing when it comes to SUVs. The new XC90 continues to rack up awards around the world, while the XC60 (itself slated for a full model change sometime this year) remains as the brand’s best-selling model. The CMA platform that’ll underpin Volvo’s new range of compact cars will also be used across the Geely family of products, and will likely find its way into Lynk&Co. offerings in the future.
Once the 40-Series of cars have been unveiled entirely, there’ll be the work of replacing the 60-Series of cars. Starting with the XC60, the S60 and V60 will be the next cars to be replaced, and all of this will be done ahead of Volvo’s first EV offering slated for 2019. “We believe strongly in electrification,” Green said. “We are working very hard on our first full EV. In 2019 it will be on the road. This is not a one-off. It will be followed up by more products. I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio, a wide range.”
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